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Dreamweavers
__NOEDITSECTION__ The Drudah Imanim The Drudah Imanim are lesser gods created by the god Anhurish. They serve as the ten high ministers of the lunar court, and more importantly they are the artificers of human dreams. They are also responsible for the omens and portents delivered to the mystics of Anhurish, and in the court itself they carry out various important custodial functions on behalf of the guests. The Dreamweavers were created one after the other by Anhurish while the moon god consolidated his plans for the Valley of Sleep. They in turn created a host of lesser Moon Imps to delegate their many responsibilities. They have several other names, notably the Seshat Netwar (Shadowed Gods), the Baylar Elaamiyad (Lords of Sleep), the Natuatim (Birdlike Ones), the Anhurat Ikenkai (Lunar Powers) and most elaborately, the Imanim Drudar Albasharad Anhurishad (Weavers of the Dream Mists of Anhurish). The Dreamweavers resemble their creator in many ways, as they were fashioned in his image, to serve as his trusted functionaries. They are tall and swarthy of skin, clothed in stately robes of nocturnal hue. They differ from their bovine-headed master in one notable respect; each has the head of a majestic bird seated upon their long necks. Their personalities are greatly informed by the will of Anhurish, and yet they each stand apart as unique creatures with differing sensibilities. Jockeying for their master’s favour, they often scheme against each other amidst the ever-shifting intrigues of the Moon Court. There is an element of futility to their plotting, since they are ultimately locked into the fixed positions they were created for. The most important role of the Dreamweavers is the one they are named after. When their servants gather together the dream-smoke exhaled by the Dreaming God, the Drudah Imanim inhale it themselves and add their own refinements. The refined dreams are passed back to their servants, who pour them into the waters of sleep, where they find their way into the minds of slumbering mortals. Each Drudah Iman specializes in a particular kind of dream, but they often combine their abilities to produce more elaborate or recurring dreams. Ketrah the Magister The eldest and the de-facto leader of the Dreamweavers, Ketrah has the head of a long-crested eagle and stands nearly as tall as his master. He dresses in garments of regal blue and purple, trimmed with brown eagle feathers. He also carries the moon god’s crescent staff, Morn Qharev, which rarely sees use by its owner anymore. Ketrah is responsible for tending to Abd Marab, the White Throne, a privileged position which grants him the ear of Anhurish himself. He is ever seated at the right hand of the Dreaming God, and when he is absent, Ketrah sits on the White Throne in his stead. The Magister serves as an adviser, a herald and a regent, handling the bulk of bureaucratic matters in the Moon Court and supervising the other Dreamweavers in their duties. His Moon Imps attend personally to the whims of Anhurish, and keep the Dream Hookah fueled with Menhu. No Dreamweaver surpasses Ketrah in skill, with the possible exception of Maqhet. When Ketrah weaves dreams he specializes in the abstract, the bizarre and the surreal, sculpting magnificent dreamscapes where space and time are relative concepts, and the imagination surpasses the impossible. He also supervises the dreamweaving of the other Drudah Imanim, perfecting or embellishing their work where necessary. In the Cult of Anhurish, Ketrah is hailed as Meteron Abdad Marab, the Magister of the White Throne. Sometimes he is even referred to as Har Anhurish, the Lesser Anhurish, although Ketrah himself would consider such idolatry to be blasphemous. He prefers to be seen as the right hand of Anhurish, patron and guardian of the faith on behalf of his master. He pays close attention to the affairs of the lunar cults, watching over the prosperity of their adherents and ensuring that the laws of the Old Gods are heeded. Prayers to the Dreaming God often include an appeal to Ketrah, such that he might bring their pleas to the notice of his master. Tehutzah the Scrivener Seated at the left hand of Anhurish, Tehutzah is the divine scribe of the Ananaqhim. He dresses in an open robe and a richly ornamented kilt, with a silver collar encircling the base of his slender neck. His head is that of a long-beaked ibis. While he shares some responsibilities with Benzoah, Tehutzah is a much more public figure in the Moon Court. It is his duty to record all of the proclamations and prophecies of Anhurish. The Scrivener’s Moon Imp agents interpret and deliver these tidings to the mortal prophets of the Dreaming God in the world below. But much more than that, Tehutzah is a collector of information in general, and serves in an unofficial capacity as the moon god’s spymaster. Although Ketrah is the highest ranking official in the court, Tehutzah is widely considered to be the cleverest and most cunning, second only in wisdom to Anhurish himself. As a Dreamweaver, Tehutzah himself is responsible for the weaving of prophetic dreams and visions. He is a master of metaphor, and his dream-narratives often contain mere fragments of truth, artfully concealed beneath layers of abstract symbolism and arbitrary nonsense. There are entire codices devoted to the interpretation of Tehutzah’s mysteries. The richly decorated system of fortune-telling cards known as the Tehat are also under the auspices of the Scrivener. Tehutzah has his own venerated place in the Cult of Anhurish, where he is called Atemon Razahad, the Scrivener of Secrets. Like Ketrah, he is very active in the inner workings of the lunar cults, serving as the power behind the prophetic branches of the faith. He is the idol of choice for the oracles of Anhurish, and they pray for him to sustain their gifts. Tehutzah is also a patron of drug-induced trances and hallucinogenic fugues, but is secondary in importance to Qheset, Geszurah and Yeshod. Spies, tricksters and assassins hold Tehutzah in esteem, praying to him for success in their clandestine endeavours. Benzoah the Chronicler Benzoah is the keeper of Nyn Anhurad’s Lunar Library. With the head of a barn-owl and a body clad in the thick, dull robes of a scholar, he is the most distant and preoccupied of the Dreamweavers. The majority of his time is spent away from the court proper, maintaining his vast repository of ancient and mystical knowledge. The largest collection of books, scrolls and tablets in the world can be found in his keeping, and he has perfectly memorized each and every one. Consequently, Benzoah is a historian second to none, although he has never personally set foot on the world of Thal. His uniquely literate Moon Imps venture below on his behalf, collecting and compiling books for the great library. His only significant role in the court itself is to provide documentation for the other Dreamweavers, and he also entertains the courtesans with his endless catalogue of stories. As a Dreamweaver, the Chronicler works with memories distilled from the dream-smoke, threading old recollections into strange patchwork canvases of the past. Benzoah’s nostalgic dreams allow mortals to revisit times gone by, places left behind and people long lost. He also has a penchant for weaving the memories of stories and poems into dreams, influencing the human imagination with the power of literature. In the Cult of Anhurish, Benzoah is revered as Atuamay Nuskuyad, the Chronicler of Knowledge, and Nabiray Zikarad, the Keeper of Memory. He is one of the three divine patrons of academia—collectively the Sulshayim Marifad—along with the Lightbringer Rahadi and the Truthsayer Izrafil. Many universities and libraries contain shrines dedicated to the Chronicler. Scholars pray to him for inspiration and illumination, while the elderly beseech him to keep the ravages of age from stealing their memories away. His name is invoked in spells and inscribed on amulets for the curing of amnesia, dyslexia and speech disorders. Qheset the Treasurer Qheset is the curator of the Great Treasury of Anhurish, responsible for the preservation of all its ancient reliquaries, and also handles all the financial concerns of the Moon Court (It would be improper for a deity to be poorer than a mortal king, after all). Qheset’s Moon Imps polish and restore the precious artifacts of Nyn Anhurad, and are also sent down into Thal to gather new treasures for the Dreaming God to peruse at his pleasure. With the head of a flamingo upon his slender neck, Qheset dresses in gaudy robes of violet and indigo, embellished with silver and gold trim. The Treasurer is one of the more eccentric officials in the Moon Court, with a flamboyant and effervescent personality, and a manic mien bordering on full-blown lunacy. He is also, however, one of the better liked Dreamweavers, rarely involved in the gossiping and political manoeuvring of the other courtiers. When concocting dreams, Qheset specializes in hallucinations, fever-dreams and the delusions of the mad. The treasurer’s dreams are characteristically phantasmagoric concoctions, and can be every bit as as disorientating and terrifying as the nightmares of Maqhet. Qheset often works with Tehutzah when devising prophetic visions, adding his own chaotic turbulence to help obscure the intricate patterns of the Scrivener. Qheset is an important tutelary spirit in the Cult of Anhurish, known by the name Nisurtzay Anqhat, the Treasurer of Truth. He serves as a spirit guide for the psychically gifted, steering them away from falling into the gulfs of insanity on either side of the road to true spiritual awareness. But he is also feared and warded against in his role as Falay Lawaqad, the Bringer of Madness. Among the common people, Qheset is prayed to for protection against insanity, his name invoked in spells to cure dementia. He is believed to watch over wealth and material belongings, but paradoxically he is also prayed to by thieves for luck in their clandestine deeds. Geszurah the Overseer The serious Gezhurah stands in stark contrast to the flippant Qheset. He dons sombre blue robes trimmed in dark fur, with the glowering head of a cinereous vulture upon his crooked neck. The Overseer works in the background, and prides himself on his attention to detail. The kitchen rooms, wine cellars, breweries, butteries, storage chambers and pantries of the Moon Palace are his to manage, as is the Astral Orrery. He is a stern and scrupulous taskmaster, running his servants ragged to ensure that the guests and courtiers of Anhurish are well supplied with sublime pleasures of every like and manner: delectable foods, immaculate wines, rich oils, fragrant incenses, refined hashish and tobacco resins from the gardens of Yeshod. Geszurah’s belaboured Moon Imps diligently prepare, preserve and resupply the perishable goods of the palace, scuttling nervously about their business under the sagacious eye of their maker. As a Dreamweaver, Geszurah’s meticulous nature is best suited to the creation of lifelike and mundane dreams, painstakingly realistic in every nuance and detail. He is particularly fond of devising tricky waking dreams, fooling the dreamers into thinking they have awoken from their sleep. When the Overseer is in a flippant mood—and this is a rarity indeed—he will nest several of these deceptions in a sequence, blurring the line between dreaming and reality. In the Cult of Anhurish, Geszurah is titled Igihay Ulalahad, The Overseer of Joys. He is regarded as the lord of intoxication and master of altered states, a patron deity of wine, beer, drugs and incense. Along with fellow festive deities Galulah and Aywan, he forms a triad called the Ulalahatim, or Joyous Ones. Geszurah plays a prominent role in the various religious festivals of the lunar cults, which always begin with prayers asking the Overseer to watch over the event. This festive role is a noted irony given that Geszurah himself is the most grave and sober of the Dreamweavers, so much so that he is often surnamed Uzeesh Netwah, the Solemn God. Teppuret the Procurer Unctuous and suave, Teppuret is the custodian of the Moon Court’s harem. He dresses in a translucent robe of navy blue and plum, and a dark cloak trimmed with sleek black feathers. His head is that of a graceful black swan and his body is anointed with an assortage of gem-studded jewelry. None among the courtiers of the Dreaming God are more scheming, facetious and manipulative than this glorified pimp. He hides it well beneath a veneer of obsequious flattery, yet somehow manages to seem haughty and dignified all the same. He considers himself to be in the favour of Anhurish, and due to the nature of his position, most other residents of Nyn Anhurad owe Teppuret their grudging favour as well, putting him in a very influential position. As for the Procurer’s Moon Imps, they tend to every need of the courtesans, bathing and perfuming them, getting them ready for their nightly pleasantries. Weaver of erotic dreams. Orhod the Composer Orhod is the grand orchestrator of the Moon Court’s singers and musicians. black-crowned Crane, weaver of fantasies. Nanetzah the Furnisher Peacock, weaver of daydreams. Yeshod, the Gardener Albatross, weaver of warning dreams. Maqhet the Messenger Raven, weaver of nightmares.